Growing Old Gracefully
Natchitoches is the oldest city that was part of the Louisiana Purchase. Established on the Cane River in 1714, this charming town is highlighted by its gracious riverfront. Home to dozens of bed-and-breakfasts, Natchitoches has a historic district that rivals any in the South. The reconstructed fort of St. Jean Baptiste offers an authentic look at 18th century life in the territory.
We stopped into the Northwest Louisiana History Museum, where I was captivated by the work of Clementine Hunter, the acclaimed memory painter who re-created slave life at Melrose Plantation by painting scenes on plywood. She began painting in her 50s and created 4,000 to 5,000 works in her lifetime. Her murals have been restored and are being returned to Melrose this month.
“Melrose Plantation is a National Historic Landmark located 17 miles from Natchitoches in the Cane River National Heritage Area,” said Arlene Gould of the Natchitoches Convention and Visitors Bureau. “The African House where the Clementine Hunter murals have been on display since 1955 was named a National Treasure by the National Trust for Historic Preservation last June.”
The mayor of Natchitoches stopped by to say hello during our dinner at Maglieaux’s on the Cane. This local favorite sits on the river, just above the sprawling park and live oaks that achieved cinematic stardom in “Steel Magnolias.”
Boudin and Bird-Watching
We rolled into Lake Charles in southwestern Louisiana and had my favorite lunch of the trip at Famous Foods, a roadside eatery known for boudin and barbecue. Boudin is a Louisiana staple, a finger food made from pork, onion, rice and dried seasonings. We lined up at the counter and ordered at the register.
“My father started this restaurant 45 years ago, and I built this location 10 years ago,” said our host, Darby Guillory Sr. “I learned this business from the time I was 10 years old. We eat the whole pig, from the head to the tail. We eat everything but the oink.”
“We are an outdoor adventure destination,” said Anne Klenke of the Lake Charles Southwest Louisiana Convention and Visitors Bureau. “On the Creole Nature Trail, there are 7,000 people and 15,000 alligators. This is hunting and fishing country, also offshore oil drilling. Water, interstates and rail traffic make St. Charles a national transportation center.”
Klenke took us to the Cameron Prairie National Wildlife Refuge, where thousands of marshland acres illustrate the lifecycles and migratory habits of more than 200 species of birds. We encountered alligators and cormorants , cranes, ibis, herons and other species of birds.
“Lots of people fish off the coast here for redfish, speckled trout and flounder,” she said.
Lively Lafayette
Honestly, Lafayette was the place I most wanted to visit on this trip. I love zydeco and Cajun music. This city of 125,000 or so draws 300,000 serious music fans to its Festival International each year for free live music throughout town. Held the last weekend of April, Festival International validates Lafayette’s credentials as one of America’s great music towns.
We had dinner at Randol’s, one of the city’s Cajun restaurants and dance halls. I had my fill of fried alligator bites, crawfish etouffee and Abita beer, and then invited a couple of fellow writers to join me for a dance.
Local patrons were two-stepping their way around this old wooden floor to live music, and we slid into the melee. Somehow, my Kentucky clogging steps worked out OK, and the locals welcomed us to the floor with smiles.
From there, we headed off to the Blue Moon Saloon. Somebody had the right idea in 2002 when they brought a band here. Today, this old guesthouse has a rocking back porch where we caught the Zydeco Alligators onstage. It was a couple more cold beers and a lot more dancing for most of us.
The Blue Moon Saloon is a must-see, must-hear, must-dance stop if you are in Lafayette. But come happy. Nobody’s crying in their beers in this place. This is Louisiana.
It’s Personal in Louisiana
On the drive over to Baton Rouge, Jeff Richard, public information officer for the Louisiana Office of Tourism, gave us his version of how America negotiated the Louisiana Purchase from France. For those who have forgotten their middle school history, that purchase today comprises the better part of 15 American states. Think of it as our second-greatest land grab, with Seward’s Folly being the greatest.
“The agreement was struck in 1803,” said Richard. “Thomas Jefferson was president. He felt America needed to control the Mississippi River. ‘Let’s get New Orleans,’ he told his minister to France, Robert R. Livingston. So Livingston tells this to Napoleon. Napoleon says, ‘I’ll sell you New Orleans, but you have to take all of Louisiana.’
“‘What’s Louisiana?’ they asked. They ended up defining it as the Mississippi River and all its tributaries and all the land within that. Jefferson told Livingston, ‘Go do it, and we’ll handle Congress on the back end.’ And that’s how we got everything from the Mississippi River to the Rockies, minus Texas, for $15 million.”
